


Unchecked Guardian: Timestamps and Prompts

by Trenchcoat Hunter (Reedt)



Series: Guardians: The Ones Who Stands Against [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Domestic Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Inspired By Tumblr, Kid Fic, M/M, One Shot Collection, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Vegetables
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 09:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7165517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reedt/pseuds/Trenchcoat%20Hunter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of one shots and slice of life chapters to supplement my Guardians Universe.</p><p>I don't plan on anything after Unconquered Guardian but I saw a prompt on tumblr that immediately set my mind a buzzing and I couldn't help myself. </p><p>I am open to prompts and perhaps if you had questions of anyone or anything that happened in my story universe I didn't expressly mention yet, feel free to drop a comment. I might do something with it, but no promises.</p><p>Part 1: <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3109850">Unlikely Guardian</a><br/>Part 2: <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3343943">Uncertain Guardian</a><br/>Part 3: <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/4459862">Unconquered Guardian</a><br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Karma Sounds Alot Like Carrots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is what started it off and the idea came from a post I came across from [crossroadswrite](http://crossroadswrite.tumblr.com/post/145667471608/you-know-what-im-thinking-right-now-karma-derek)
> 
> Time Stamp:  
>  Unlikely Guardian[--- **X** \---] Uncertain Guardian [------] Unconquered Guardian 

This was one of the days that Derek both hated and absolutely loved. It had been a solid year of little smiles, small touches, and quiet promises with this man that came crashing into his life with three little wolves in tow. A solid year since three little pups actually conned their aunts, uncles, and grandfather into setting him and their dad up on a blind date. A blind date that had Derek’s wolf within utterly frolicking for joy when Stiles had reached out and truly began to open up to Derek. In this time, Derek had gotten to see the utterly amazing yet broken man underneath the intimidating power and staunch loyalty. The times where Stiles could basically rule with an iron fist (sometimes literally if Scott or Jackson were being bullheaded about whatever it was at the time) to the moments where Stiles would just wilt like a flower out of genuine want to love on his pack whether that be in the form of emotional counseling, joyous story telling or overboard indulgence. Sadly, the last point was an ever-testing point for Derek and his wolf within with today being a prime example.

Stiles herded the pups into one side of the booth while Derek sat and then scooted in to make room for his date to sit. Ethan, Aiden and Liam babbled happily about the newest Marvel movie as Stiles positively beamed at their carefree joy before a shadow of anger passed over his eyes in remembered pain. Derek quietly grabbed his hand under the table and gave it a squeeze, snapping Stiles back to the present just as Doug meandered over to their table. “Well, look who it is!”

Liam turned his big blue, puppy eyes at the diner owner. “Hi Mr. Doug!” Derek chuckled as he imagined the eight year old as a tail-wagging pup.

With a jovial laugh, Doug reached over and rubbed the little blonde’s hair. “How you doing, Liam? You giving your dad’s boyfriend a hard time?”

Thankfully, Derek was already holding Stiles’ hand when he felt the man next to him stiffen. A gentle tug from Derek and Stiles let his muscles relax. This was a point that his counselor had continually worked with Stiles on: being hypervigliant with anyone outside the pack touching or interacting with his sons. Granted, after the hellish years the four of them had lived with, it isn’t surprising Stiles was protective. Still, Dr. Yukimura, Kira’s mother, has been long in working through the little family’s experiences. The pups were in fact cleared to start school for the first time. That, of course, was another matter to tackle on another day. The current matter that was striking at Derek’s heart was lunch.

Liam had the puppy eyes he learned from Isaac, the little hellion.  “Tato! Możemy zamówić samo jak ostatnim razem?” Derek snorted softly knowing Stiles was a feather stroke away from caving when Ethan and Aiden turned pleading eyes and little hands up in prayer. Derek rolled his eyes heavenward, knowing resistance was now gone.

Stiles tilted his head with a soft smile as he nodded, to which the pups all hooted and yipped happily. “Doug, can the boys get the fried chicken platters with mashed potatoes and gravy as the first side and the cheesy broccoli rice as the other? I’ll just get triple order of your curly fries and a side of nacho cheese dip. Derek?”

“I’ll have the Santa Fe Salad with grilled steak.” As Doug wrote down the order, Derek poked his nose to Stiles’ neck, letting the tempting scent brush his nose, but it was also to keep him from pursing his lips into a scowl. Derek and the pups wouldn’t be effected by the unhealthy amounts of junk they routinely eat, but Stiles, for all his magic, was human and if the Sheriff’s stories of his insane health diet from before Stiles’ abduction were true, Derek was frankly surprised he found Fruit Loops in the cupboard when he came to court Stiles and the pups at the Stilinski house. Part of Derek wanted to talk to Stiles about his seemingly bottomless stomach when it came to curly fries and the other junk food he routinely consumed, but the other part felt guilty for trying to put Stiles and the pups on any kind of diet after how long they had literally lived on scraps and trash. How do you bring up healthy eating habits to someone who had to scavenge dumpsters for a meal or resorting to theft if you wanted something not partially eaten or rotten?

A gentle squeeze from their still clasped hands drew Derek’s eyes to Stiles. Innocent, whiskey brown eyes blinked in concern with an unasked question of his well-being which had the hazel green eyes smirking as the wolf shook his head. Both men turned to the pups as they continued to discuss the movie Derek hadn’t paid much attention to as his wolf within curled into a happy ball of fluff. The man sitting next to him could read him like a book and speak volumes with just a glance. Oh how Derek loved Stiles.

<~~~~~~>

Stiles busied himself in the kitchen, trying to distract himself even though he constantly kept stealing glances at the clock on the microwave. He pulled out his phone once more and re-read the last message he got from Derek.

{ _Brace yourself, pups are agitated but won’t say why_ }

Placing his phone on the counter, Stiles rubbed tired eyes as he stirred the ground beef once more before taking the pan over to the sink and draining away the excess fat and setting it aside. He was preparing one of the pups’ favorites meals tonight for surviving their first week of school, homemade chicken parmesan with linguine and a spicy beef Bolognese with lots and lots of garlic knots and a rich chocolate cheesecake as dessert. It was his dad’s suggestion (and Dr. Yukimura’s orders) that Derek would transport the pups to and from school in an exercise of trust (in Derek) and an exercise in letting his guard down and not on the constant cusp of worry. Although judging from the thunderous footsteps he was suddenly aware of, the worry in him shot through the roof.

Stiles turned in time to see Liam launch himself at Stiles waist as Ethan and Aiden boxed him in and crushed his chest, all three crying and babbling incoherently as they rubbed their faces into his shirt. There was a protective flare in him as he cradled his sons in his embrace that had his hands gently stroking his son’s backs while clamping his jaw shut. The creak of leather drew Stiles’ attention to where Derek was shucking off his leather jacket. An angry snap was on his lips, but Derek cut him off with a glare. “Pillars, now.”

Almost biting his tongue off, Stiles began to mentally recite the litany he taught his own sons. _Force…Knowledge…Discipline…Force…Knowledge_ …on and on he went before he eventually relaxed. When he became aware once more, he realized his sons had gone quiet as well. It seemed Derek had not just been telling Stiles to use the litany after all. Turning off the stove, Stiles directed the pups over to the kitchen table and seated them all. “What’s going on with you three? What happened?”

Liam’s chin crinkled as he stuck out his quivering bottom lip, “We don’t want you to die, _Tato!_ ”

Derek and Stiles were floored and their faces showed it although Derek recovered quicker. “What?!”

Ethan sucked in a shaky breath. “Mr. Finstock says people that eat lots of fatty, fried food will die sooner cause of all the trains fats can kill you!”

Aiden nodded, vigorously. “We asked Mr. Finstock if curly fries has trains fats and they do! And you eat lots of curly fries! WE DON’T WANT YOU TO DIE!”

Stiles felt a muscle twitch under his left eye as he glared at a snort from Derek, who quickly smothered his glee as three sets of baleful eyes turned to his throat clearing. “You means trans fats, pups, and don’t worry no one dies from that-“

Cue three looks of joy. “REALLY?!”

“-right away.”

Cue three looks of devastation. “What?!”

Derek chuckled as reached over to Ethan, the closet pup within reaching distance, and gently wiped away the tears from his cheeks. “It’s not like wolfsbane or any other kind of poison that can kill us. Trans fats can make human’s sick if they eat too much for too long. Wolves like us don’t really need to worry about that because our bodies can heal fast and we work off a lot of energy.”

Stiles jumped in. “That’s right, it can effect human hearts if they’re not carefully. _Dzadiku_ almost had a problem with that when I was much younger, his doctor said he had to be careful.” Cue three looks of horror. “But don’t worry! I kept him on a very healthy diet so that helped fix things.”

Liam perked up. “How?!”

Stiles sat back and tapped his finger to his lips in thought. “Well, I didn’t really let him eat much red meat, mostly turkey, chicken or fish was on the menu, I was careful of how much salt he could eat, hardly ever let him have fried food. We also had lots of vegetables.”

In perfect sync, Ethan, Aiden and Liam all stood from their chairs. “We need to go shopping!”

Derek double blinked while Stiles sputtered, “what?! Why? Dinner is almost ready and I made one of your favorites.”

Ethan shook his head. “We know, we can smell the oil and chicken, but its all bad for you!”

Derek sucked in his lips and bit them to smother the smile trying to surface as Stiles looked shocked. “Me? What are you talking about?”

Aiden turned his puppy eyes on Stiles. “You eat lots of fried junk and no vegetables!”

Ethan nodded at his twin. “Yeah! You eat too much! We need to get more vegetables!”

Liam brought up little clasped hands and turned a devastatingly pleading look to Derek. “Please take us to the store.”

It was all he could to not burst out laughing. The pups had basically given him a perfect in on how to get Stiles on the healthy track. “Of course I’ll take you.”

Three loud cheers were followed by an arms full of pups and a deathly stare from Stiles as those pink lips mouthed out _traitor_ , before he sighs and pulls out his phone. He bring it up to his ear after bring up his dad’s contact information. Derek directs the pups to put away their backpacks while the phone rings. “Hey dad.”

“What did you do, Stiles.” Statement, not a question. Rude.

A spastic flail drew the attention of all four wolves in the kitchen. “NOTHING!”

“Uh huh.”

“Shut up dad. Listen, I know I invited you to dinner after you get off, but it’s going to be a bit late.”

Stiles could hear the sigh over the phone. “What did you _do_ , Stiles.”

“Nothing, I swear! Finstock is apparently teaching health at the elementary school and gave the twins the idea I’m headed to an early grave because of my tragic love of curly fries.”

“…and?”

Stiles stood with a huge sigh. “We’ve got to go out to the store because there is apparently a change in menu. The pups are on a mission to feed me veggies. Lots and lots of veggies.”

The shockingly loud laugh followed by the crash on the phone had Stiles pulling his phone away from his ear and staring at the device all the while his dad’s laughter filled the kitchen as well as concerned deputies inquired to the state of their boss that had fallen out of his chair.

<~~~~~~>

Two hours later, three pups, two Stilinskis and an Alpha sat around a table eating rice stuff green peppers with roast garlic broccoli on the side. Stiles pokes at the offensive pepper while looking longingly at the fridge where most of his earlier efforts sat in sealed containers to be used on a cheat day before a poke to his arm drew his attention back to the table. His father was smiling rather smugly and that had Stiles immediately on the defensive. “Something wrong with your stuffed pepper, son?”

Stiles kept his eyes locked on his dad’s because he knew there were three sets of puppy eyes being directed at him in worry. “Nope! I’m good, dinner is good!”

“Good,” the Sheriff chuckled jovially as he happily took another bite of the rice stuffing. Oh how he loved this beautiful karma. “Wouldn’t want your cholesterol to go up. Remember what my doctor said.”

A small gasp had the Sheriff turning to Liam’s big blue eyes. “What’d the doctor say?”

“I’m glad you asked, Liam!”

Stiles heard a snicker as Derek’s shoulder shook with his head bent in an attempt to once again not simply burst out laughing. Annoyed, he kicked Derek under the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Tato! Możemy zamówić samo jak ostatnim razem?_ = **Can we order the same thing like last time?**


	2. Freshmen Folly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt [ AzureBlueEspeon](http://archiveofourown.org/users/AzureBlueEspeon/pseuds/AzureBlueEspeon) asked me last chapter: _"And if you are looking for a prompt... Nothing real concrete but I think it would be cute to see a little more on the Twin thing with Aiden and Ethan. Like Twin Telepathy as they're growing up. Or- I know you didn't do anything with it in your stories but- the whole thing where they can merge together cause they are twins. Just thinking of the chaos they could get into sounds adorable."_
> 
> Time Stamp:  
>  Unlikely Guardian[------] Uncertain Guardian [---X---] Unconquered Guardian 

Stiles smirked as his rickety, old blue jeep came to a slow stop. "Boys, I swear, you have nothing to worry about."

Aiden glared at him from the back seat. " _Tato,_ telling us not to worry won't _actually_ stop us from doing so."

Ethan just stared out the window sullenly as Stiles turned around in his seat. "Hey, what's going on? You usually aren't this snippy or quiet when it comes to doing something new and high school is nothing really after everything we've had to deal with."

Giving his _Tato_ a side glance, Ethan huffed. “This is going to be so weird…”

Aiden slumped and crossed his arms. “So beyond awkward and weird…”

“Okay, and now you’ve both lost me,” Stiles remarked as he quirked an eyebrow.

With a sigh in stereo, Ethan and Aiden teetered towards each other and simultaneously  hitting each other’s shoulder in the center of the back seat, staring at Stiles. With an eye roll and unimpressed glance their only response, Ethan mumbled, “You’re such a big deal here-”

“-what with what happened to you-” Aiden added.

“-and Uncle Jackson, Scott, and Isaac-”

“-when you were our age and it’s-”

“-kind of hard living up to, well, you, _Tato._ ”

Stiles’ eyes followed the conversation, well used to the twins’ penchant for being on the same wavelength and thought process. “Boys, what happened to me and your uncles is not going to happen to you.”

Aiden snorted. “Obviously, since we’re already wolves.” A flick to the forehead and a raised eyebrow had Aiden rubbing the slight sting and bowing his head. “Przepraszam, Tato.”

Giving his son a pointed look, Stiles caught both their eyes before speaking softly. “What I meant was, nothing extreme is going to happen to you while you’re act school. The territory is settled and with your papa around, we know about intruders faster than we did before. Besides, having Victoria here as her civilian job, backup can come fast.”

Ethan sat up, worry in his eyes. “Yeah but-”

A gentle finger to his lips from his _Tato_ , silenced the young wolf. “If you need us, you can call, or even howl.” Both his sons still looked nervous. Stiles awkwardly leaned farther into the back row, wrapped his arms around their necks and pulled his sons’ faces to his neck. Even if his Jeep held his scent, hitting his sons’ noses with the source instantly calmed them. A few breaths of his calm scent later, Stiles gently pulled away. Both twins were looking pliable, sleepy, and calm. “Don’t worry about what may happen and don’t try to live up to this big idea of me. Just roll with the punches because we all know life likes throwing curveballs, like evil angelic possession! Who would’ve guessed that was a thing!?” Both twins cringed at last year’s events. “Seriously, live for today and worry about what Scott is planning to cook for the picnic Saturday.”

Ethan paled, while Aiden’s eyes widened. “What!?”

“Kidding! Kidding! Like I’d let your uncle cook anything after Thanksgiving? ( _“What the hell is that, Scott?!” “The recipe called for old cheddar-” “AGED! AGED! YOU DON’T USE MOLDY CHEESE!”)_ Look, just be you, no one else. You be Ethan, you be Aiden, just have fun ok?”

Both his sons’ slumped in their seat, but this was out of relaxation, not resignation. “Okay _, Tato._ ”

Stiles drew his hands across one cheek each, scenting his sons one last time. “Alright, now both of you, go on! School should start in fifteen minutes.”

Ethan and Aiden grabbed their respective bags from the back of the cargo space before hopping out of the Jeep and slamming the doors. The brothers jostled each other as they jogged towards the building as Stiles stuck his head out the window of his Jeep. “NO CLASS SWAPPING! AIDEN, STAY IN ENGLISH! ETHAN, STAY IN GEOMETRY!”

<~~~~~~>

If there was one thing that Oscar knew, it was that this was going to be a very long year. His elbow dug into the table as he rested his head on his arm, dazed and glazed as Mr. Clark rambled on and on about the syllabus. Oscar hated math with a firey passion even if he was good at it and this, this class was going to be torture. At least that was before there was a knock at the door a few minutes after the start of class.

Mr. Clark turned to the door, openly curious. “Come in!”

Oscar, and quite a few others, sat up as a new guy walked in to the room holding his schedule in front of him and looking around cautiously. He was gorgeous! His square jaw, the big chocolate brown eyes and the dark spiked hair was packaged up nicely in a black Henley and a pair of dark washed jeans that should be illegal in for someone their age. Especially with how this guy was built like a colt! The new guy licked his lips nervously (“ _EXCUSE YOU!”)_ before he turned to the front of the class. “Please excuse me, but I got lost, I’m supposed to be in Mr. Clark’s Advanced Geometry?”

Mr. Clark smiled; the kid had good manners. “You’ve found the right place! What’s your name son?”

The guy walked into the room and Oscar got to see that body move way more fluidly than he expected, but it was the big smile that had him and a few other students squirming. “Aiden Stilinski-Hale, sir.”

Oscar’s eyes widened at that. This wasn’t just some new kid, this kid was a Hale Wolf!

Mr. Clark scanned his class list and quickly found his name. “Gotcha right here son. Why don’t you take a seat?” Aiden ignored Mr. Clark for a moment as he stared at the complicated problem on the board. Mr. Clark glanced over his shoulder before he laughed. “Ah that monstrosity. Don’t concern yourself too much about that. It’s just an example of-”

“-Differential geometry. Specifically, that looks like Grigori’s proof of Soul Conjecture of  Riemannian Geometry.” Aiden’s eyes danced around the board as he tried to follow the.

The class was flabbergasted because really, how the hell did the new kid know that? Mr. Clark, on the other hand, positively beamed. “You recognize the proof?”

Aiden nodded, not taking his eyes away, least he lose his place. “Yeah, _Tato_ , I mean, dad always said Russian math books were better than what we have in the USA so that’s what we have at the house.”

Oscar just stared in wonder at the apparently genius-brained hotty while Mr. Clark was rather…bubbly. “Вы можете читать и говорить на русском.”

Aiden shrugged as he closed his eyes at the bored and turned to Mr. Clark with a grin.  “Да, мои братья и я узнал, когда мы были молоды.”

And the guy could sound like Bucky Barnes?! Oscar seriously was swooning in his seat. Mr. Clark laughed again. “Take a seat anywhere you’d like and we’ll get back to the syllabus.”

Several people cleared their stuff from the empty seats besides them, including Oscar.

<~~~~~~>

The whispers were beginning to annoy her, but Violet kept to taking her notes as Ms. Blake continued to explain what she expected out of this Advanced Story Composition course. A couple of shuffles behind her and another series of giggles had Violet instinctively glancing at the source of all the obnoxious gossip behind her. The new kid tugged on his navy Henley as he wrote while he listened aptly to Ms. Blake, completely oblivious to the gawking going on behind him. He kept looking down and back to Ms. Blake as he went over his…doodles? Was he just drawing? How did he even get into this class?

“Now,” Ms. Blake said as she lightly clapped her hands together. “Do you have any questions about your potential essays?”

Violet raised her hand, but she was surprised that the new kid did as well, who she glared at when Ms. Blake called on him. “Yes, Ethan?”

Ethan cleared his throat, suddenly aware of the eyes that he had drawn. “For our essay on classic tragic love stories, do we have to only stick with English Literature or can you use others?”

That admittedly threw Violet for a loop as well as Ms. Blake, who just double blinked. “What do you mean?”

Still aware of the eyes of everyone on him, Ethan blushed a bit. “Well, I was hoping that I could actually do a comparison between Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and one of China’s Four Great Forklores: "The Butterfly Lovers". I thought it would be interesting to, you know, compare and contrast them, since, you know, eastern cultures against western and stuff…”

Violet realized that this was not what she expected from the jock looking pretty boy. She honestly thought he wasn’t in the right class this entire time. Ms. Blake, however, looked suitably impressed and raised an eyebrow over her dark framed glasses. “I’m not familiar with Eastern Literature so if you can provide a suitable source so I know you aren’t just making anything up, then I don’t see why not.”

Ethan perked up at that. “My _Tato_ , uh, I mean, my dad has a couple of Chinese literature in Mandarin at home I can bring in.”

Ms. Blake sat at the edge of her desk and crossed her arms as she smiled. “Let’s put this idea on the back burner for now until after we have a meeting with your dad. I don’t know Mandarin so for all I know, you could bring in a cookbook.”

The bobbing of Ethan’s head was apparently adorable because there was cooing and audible awes behind Violet. The bell rang at that moment and as Violet stood, she caught of glimpse of Ethan’s notes before he shut it. Given the conversation, Violet guessed that the new kid hadn’t been doodling all class, but wrote all his notes in Mandarin!

<~~~~~~>

Garrett honestly could think of a hundred different things right now that he would rather be listening to. Oscar going on and on about how hot the new guy is was not on that list. It didn’t even make it to top five hundred. Garrett was stretching on the field as Oscar continued to wax poetic about unrealistic jaw lines when Violet came up to the pair.

Garrett sighed. “Oh thank God, if I have to listen to Oscar moan about the new kid anymore, I’m going to stab myself with my own crosse. Please tell me your day has been better than mine, Vi.”

“Excuse you,” Oscar exclaimed.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Hal,” Violet responded robotically.

“Why? Why,” Garrett whined.

Violet flopped on the ground next to her boyfriend as she strapped on her cleats. “Because I’ve been hearing about the new kid since I had him in first bell with Blake. He stayed after class to talk to her about doing a paper on Chinese folklore! And everyone, I mean _everyone_ , was mooning over how cute he was.”

Oscar stopped his little mumbling and gave Violet a confused glance. “First bell with Blake? I had the new kid with me in First bell with Clark. He’s apparently some math whiz that knows Russian math!”

Garrett sat up and crossed his legs, genuinely intrigued now as Violet cocked an eyebrow. “Bout six feet tall?”

Oscar nodded. “Yup.”

“Big brown eyes, butch cut hair?”

“Yup.”

“Dark Henley and jeans?”

“Yup.”

Violet didn’t speak for a moment before pointing over Oscar and Garrett’s shoulders. “Them?”

Oscar and Garrett whipped their heads behind them to see Aiden and Ethan walking calmly out of the locker rooms in athletic shorts that went to just above the knees and sleeveless cutoffs, one sporting Spiderman, the other sporting Superman. Their gloves were strung over their shoulders while they carried their crosse in one hand and their helmet in the other. Oscar whimpered, “Oh my god, they're twins!”

One of the twins, Violet really couldn’t guess which one, leaned to his brother and said something that had the other laughing and bumping shoulders back. Their laugh however caught the Coach’s attention from where he had been talking with his assistants. He zeroed in on the twins as they walked up, eyeing them carefully. These two were unknowns so they had to be new. He’d kept tabs on all any potential player at the middle school no matter what sport they played. He could tell from their movements and the definition in their limbs that these two held some promise. Even better when the two confidentially walked up to him. “And what can I do for you two chuckle heads?”

The one in Spiderman grinned. “We wanted to know if you accepted walk-ons for try outs.”

The Coach eyed him closely. “I do. First time on the field huh? I’m sure I would have scouted you if you played in lower leagues.”

The twin with the big S on his chest shook his head, noticing how everyone behind Coach was staring at them. “First time playing on a team. Mostly just played-”

Spiderman followed up, “-with family, but our parents thought it-”

“-would be a good idea to join the team-”

Coach noticed out of the corner of his eye the way most of his players kept flicking their gazes between the twins as they spoke.

“-as freshmen and work our way-”

“-to captains like Uncle Scott-”

“-and Uncle Jackson did before for you.”

And that caught the Coach’s attention fast. “Scott and Jackson? As in my co-captains from my last run at State, Scott McCall and Jackson Whitemore?” He got two heads nodding as he narrowed his eyes. “And who are you two exactly? And why do you call my golden boys ‘Uncle’?”

Spiderman grinned as he threw an arm over Superman. “I’m Ethan Stilinski-Hale and this is my twin Aiden. Uncle Scott and Uncle Jackson are part of our parent’s pack and have been coaching us in Lacrosse for years now.”

Coach’s fuzzy eyebrows shot up. “Stilinski? And Hale? As in the Stilinski that went missing years ago and Hale as in the big bad Alpha?”

Aiden chuckled nervously. “Uh yeah. You also actually taught us health class once back in elementary school. Like a year or so after dad brought us all home.”

“I did?”

Ethan shrugged. “It was for some health fair.”

Coach tapped his fingers to his mouth. “I think I remember doing something like that a couple of years ago.”

Aiden shrugged this time. “Yeah, well, we tried normal school but it didn’t work out to well at first so we were pulled out and home-schooled till now. Our parents think high school is a good time to get off on the whole ‘social aspect of youth’, whatever that means.”

Coach nodded, but his mind raced. “Alright get in the lineup then. We’ll see what you can do.”

“Thanks coach,” came the stereo answer.

Coach turned to his assistant and chuckled. “Oh this should be good.”

The moment Coach started try outs, it was clear Ethan and Aiden were going to be special. There were already wolves on the team already so it wasn’t hard to find anyone to match their strength. No it was how they out ran and out maneuvered everyone. Watching one of his Senior Forwards try to rush Ethan at the start of the scrimmage was like watching Scott McCall again on the field as Ethan performed a standing forward flip up and over the charge only to scoop up the ball and flick it blindly to the left, right to his twin who had mysteriously been at the right place, at the right time to catch that perfect pass. The two dashed forward together, the fluid motion almost like a dance as they dodged and weaved around all of their opponents while constantly passing the ball back and forth effortlessly from all kinds of direction. An overhead pass was volleyed back by a simple toss up and over only to be returned again with an impressive behind the back pass. This had all the hallmarks of Jackson Whittemore’s passing and handling.

Of course, that wasn’t had impressed. No, because these freshmen wouldn’t leave it at that. No, they took it a step further by calling out some strange code to their team mates that they had somehow managed to devise in their brief huddle before the scrimmaged even started.

“Triangle!”

“Circle!”

“Triangle!”

“Square!”

“X!”

“X!”

“Circle!”

“TRIANGLE!”

Coach didn’t know what happened until the entire team of recruits rushed Ethan and Aiden as they cheered for the goal on the Junior Keeper. Shaking his head, Coach walked over to the rambunctious crowd. “That was beautiful,” he said, wiping a fake tear from his eye. “We got potential for State in the coming years for sure, but what in the world was all that shouting shapes for?”

Garrett beamed. “Ethan brought it up! We used it as a call code for us to communicate without anyone else knowing what we meant!”

Coach nodded. “Yeah I figured as much, but how’d you devise a code so fast?”

Violet wiped at her sweaty forehead as she smiled. “Battlefield.”

“Say what?”

Aiden ducked his heads “We used the Battlefield controls for Playstation since everyone was pretty familiar with it…”

Ethan scratched the back of his head. “It’s something we learned from our _T_ -dad.”

Aiden chimed. “Dad and papa do it a lot around the house, switching from one language-”

“-to another. Won’t answer us or anything if we don’t answer back the right way and-”

“- it’s been useful in more practical senses. Especially when-”

“-dealing with other packs in the area.”

Coach caught the movement of everyone’s heads moving from twin to twin. Again. “You two stop talking like that, it’s weird.”

“Sorry, coach,” Ethan and Aiden said together. Wordlessly, Coach brought his fingers to his eyes, pointed at them, and then pointed at the twins. They both just grinned maniacly.

<~~~~~~>

Derek hummed lightly (or happily rumbled would be the more appropriate term as it was equal amounts man and wolf) as his oldest sons got into the Camaro. “How was your first day?”

He glanced into the rear view mirror to see the same grin his husband had on when he had done…something. The Alpha shivered slightly as Ethan and Aiden said lightly, “It was _interestin_ g.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **“Przepraszam, Tato.”** = _Sorry, Dad._  
>  **“Вы можете читать и говорить на русском.”** = _You can read and speak Russian._  
>  **“Да, мои братья и я узнал, когда мы были молоды.”** = _Yes, my brothers and I learned when we were young._


	3. A Holiday in New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was struck with inspiration while on my own family trip: Stiles and the pups meet the rest of the Hales for the first time!
> 
> NOTE: I purposefully left out which holiday is being celebrated and leave it open for the reader to go ahead and fill in. Just know, it is Winter in New York so make it as you wish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time Stamp:  
>  Unlikely Guardian[--- **X** \---] Uncertain Guardian [------] Unconquered Guardian 

"Laura, will you _please_ stop bouncing around? You exhaust me just looking at you."

Of course, her uncle's weary request does nothing to actually deter or dampen Laura's excitement as she stood just beyond the TSA security gates as the rest of holiday traveling hustle and bustle streams by her. She had eagerly "volunteered" to go with Peter in picking up Derek and his new Mate and pups from LaGuardia Airport. The mere thought of her little brother finding a Mate and pups sent her over the edge in sheer joy. Memories of a teenage dorky Derek with cute little bunny teeth and gangly limbs could never translate into the big strapping Alpha of today and for that, she eagerly awaited to meet who could have snagged her little bunny's attention. It annoyed Laura to no ends that her parents had ordered the pack to not jump on the first plane out to California as soon as Derek had informed his family that he was courting a potential Mate. Talia had given her orders as the Alpha and Kiernan had sagely enforced that Derek would not appreciate their presence while he was pursuing this new interest. It had been so long ago since Derek had shown any interest in anyone, everyone treated this development like fragile blown glass.

Laura turned to Peter. "Where's your holiday spirit?! Can't you just feel the excitement in the air? AND DEREK'S BRINGING HIS MATE AND PUPS!"

Peter went slightly cross eyed and squinted as his niece's joy crossed into high pitched squeals. "Mother Moon, calm down child."

"How can you be so calm," Laura questioned as she practically vibrated with fervor. "Our little Derek is home for the first time in six years and he's not coming alone!"

Gently palming his face, Peter sighed."Because I have a life that doesn't revolve around meddling with other people's lives."

Laura bristled at that. "I do not meddling with people's lives!"

"I beg to differ, dear niece. You have an unerring knack to stick your nose where it doesn't belong, especially when it comes to Derek."

"Name one time!"

Peter crossed his left arm and tucked it into his side while he held up his right as he ticked off a finger. "Taking Cora out to the farm for a 'punishment' for breaking curfew?"

Laura crossed her arms defensively. "She had to learn she can't just come home at three in the morning and not expect something."

"You are not Cora's parent or Alpha. It wasn't your call to make."

"Whatever, still doesn't make me a meddler."

"Just how many blind dates did you try to setup for Derek before he became an Alpha?"

"He needed to get over Paige!"

A snappy remark was on Peter's lips, but fell when a familiar scent hit his nose. By the look on Laura's face, it got to her too. Both heads turned in time to see a smiling, travel-weary Derek striding down the airport corridor, dragging a rolling luggage behind. Of course, what had Laura biting her lips to keep the shrill squeal from bursting out and sucking in a deep breath through her flared nostrils was the little blonde head perched on Derek's shoulders and limp arms drooping over his shoulders. Derek had his right arm cradling a small body that was riding on his back. Laura about sprang at her little brother but thankfully, Peter caught the back of her jacket before she could breach past the security border. The TSA glared at Laura warily as Peter shrugged apologetically them. "Calm down," Peter hissed as he hauled Laura back a step. "Don't cause any trouble or we'll be detained!"

It was almost a pointless remark as Derek made it pass the security line and Laura leapt out of Peter's grasp and pulled her little brother into a tight hug with a squeal before she jumped back with a cry of pain. Laura found blood running down her left arm where fang marks could be seen. Peter blinked at her wound in surprise, but Derek chuckled lightly as he turned his head to the right and nuzzled the glowering face beside his. "Sorry, Liam. She didn't mean to squeeze you so hard."

Looking back, Laura was greeted with a scowling little wolf with his little fangs bared. She was surprised as the dangling arms carefully wrapped around Derek's neck and those clear blue eyes narrowed. "Nie lubię jej."

Peter once again blinked while Laura gawked. "What did he just say?"

"He said ' _I don't like her_ ' although to be fair, Liam never likes anyone waking him up except for _Tato_ or Papa," a new voice responded.

Laura glanced behind Derek to see a set of pre-teen wolf twins with dark hair and chocolate brown eyes dragging their own luggage. Standing behind the twins stood a handsome man with unruly brown hair and bright brown eyes dressed in a decent amount of layers. The smirk on his face set Laura on edge. "How about you butt out of other people's business, you little brat?"

The smirk slipped off the man's face as his eyebrows climbed high while Derek's smile fell to be replaced with bewilderment. The littlest wolf scowled further, followed by the twins opting into glaring at Laura as well. Laura didn't notice but Peter did. "Well that's the pot calling the kettle black..."

One of the twins turned to the man behind him. "Możemy iść do domu?"

The man smiled as he playfully rubbed both twins' heads. "Bądź miły, jesteśmy dla Derek."

Both twins sighed as they crossed their arms and scowled in sync at Laura.

Peter noticed the similar mannerisms the little blonde wolf on Derek's back shared with the twins and had an epiphany. A small smile lit his face up as he cautiously approached. "Perhaps we should collect the baggage and be on our way?"

Laura turned a questioning look to her uncle, blatantly turning her back to the stranger with the twins. "We're still waiting for Derek's Mate, we can't leave yet."

The Alpha in question currently had his eyes narrowed at his sister's blatant disrespect. "Laura, I'd like you to meet my intended Mate and his three pups."

His big sister spun back around, her long black hair whipping into Peter's face making him spit it out. "What?! You mean _him_?!"

At the snidely rude remark, the man in question also lost his easy air and scowled. Peter noted how the three pups mirrored the man's silent glaring rather than Derek's own frowning. It seemed that others were starting to note the rising tension in the air if the weary looking TSA agent was eyeing them as well as the wide berth the rest of the crowd around them were giving. A quick (and painful) slap to the back of Laura's head drew his niece's attention back to him. His golden yellow eyes flashed at her as he hissed through his teeth, "Apologize and then shut up!"

An angry snap on Laura's lips were cut off when she heard the beginning rumbles of a very angry growl; Laura froze and finally took stalk of what was happening around her. A quick glance over the shoulder let Laura know Derek's eyes were flashing crimson red and his scent was raw and pungent with anger. The three pups were glaring at her with unconcealed loathing, but the man behind the twins had a surprisingly look on his face. It was cold, calm and calculating, sending her instincts on high alert ad her wolf within was pacing uneasily. There shouldn't be anything that was overtly threatening to the man, but her instincts were on edge.

Noticing the tension, Peter smoothly (forcefully) shoved Laura behind him. Spreading his arms out and tilting his head to bare his neck in an open move of submission, Peter almost purred. "Welcome to New York, apologies for my niece's lack of manners. We usually keep her in the barn with the other farm animals."

The tension shattered as the man threw his head back and laughed brightly. "Oh, you, you I like. My name is Stiles Stilinski and these are my pups. Ethan is on my left, Aiden is on my right, Liam is the barnacle on Derek's back."

Peter noticed all three pups seemed to relax, thankfully. "Peter Hale. If you have any needs during your stay, please inform me. I'm the Second of the Hale Pack and will do the best I can."

Stiles tilted his head to the side with eyes wide with innocence (Derek snorted derisively) as he tapped his chin with a finger thoughtfully. "Could you get me a spray bottle or perhaps a newspaper in case Laura gets out of hand again?"

Laura soured angrily, but Peter smiled mischievously.

Derek dropped his chin to his chest and shook his head wearily. "I knew you two would get on like a house on fire..."

Ethan and Aiden smirked to each other; Liam patted Derek's head in sympathy.

<~~~~~~>

Stiles was grateful that Peter drove them east along Long Island and away from New York City. He and the pups had enough of being in mega metropolises for a life time. The drive along I-495 was pristine. Most people don't really equate rolling country side when "New York" comes to mind but in truth, the NYC was only a small part of the state. In fact, Stiles noticed something interesting about an hour into their drive. Stiles turned to Derek seated next to him (Ethan, Aiden, and Liam were asleep in the third row of the SUV). "Is it just me or did we just enter Old McDonald's backyard?"

Peter chuckled from behind the driver's wheel drawing Stiles' attention. "We're actually just about to brush by Riverhead. It's the biggest agriculture point on Long Island. Almost two thirds of the island's farm acreage is here."

Derek squeezed Stiles' hand to get his attention back, away from his meddlesome uncle. "To be fair, we don't actually have many fields nowadays. The Hale pack hasn't plowed a field in decades."

"You guys have a thriving business though," Stiles remarked uncertainly.

"My parent's do, yes. They're poultry farmers."

Stiles blinked twice. "Come again?"

This got a chuckle out of the Alpha as he rubbed his thumb against the back of his Mate's hand. "My parents raise free range, organic ducks."

The silence lasts a moment before Aiden somehow heard the magic word and was suddenly awake. " _DUCK?!_ "

Stiles' slapped his face with his free hand. "Oh sweet mercy..." Ethan and Liam sparked awake at Aiden's exclamation and glared about in angry confusion. "Oh Mother Moon, Aiden please don't-"

"Papa! You said duck," Aiden squealed. "What were you just saying?!"

Ethan and Liam both perked up as Laura glanced into the rearview mirror and raised an eyebrow at Derek. The Alpha chuckled, but crinkled his eyebrows in confusion as he glanced over his own shoulder. "My family owns a duck farm; that's where we're going. Why?"

Stiles quickly covered his ears and winced tightly, all the Hales in the SUV momentarily confused. Momentarily being the keyword as high pitched (painfully high at that) squeals erupted from the back of the SUV. Peter momentarily jerked the vehicle in pain and surprise as he squinted in pain as Laura and Derek covered their own ears and cursed their superior senses as Aiden, Liam and Ethan vibrated in sheer joy.

Derek felt the pain building behind his eyes. "Stiles?!"

In a flash, Stiles plastered a hand over Aiden and Liam, stifling the sound before Derek reacted and covered Ethan's mouth as well. "Oh thank the Moon..." Derek looked wearily at Ethan as the young wolf's chocolate brown eyes were still wide with glee and the barest whistle almost passed between the Alpha's finger.

A big breath and a deep sigh drew the attention of the Hale wolves in the car to Stiles. "Szczenięta," cue three looks of indignation, "mamy zamiar wziąć nasze ręce z dala i będzie spokój. Zrozumiany?"

Three little nods answered Stiles as he glanced at Derek and nodded as well. Slowly, Derek and Stiles backed their hands away and settled into their seats. Ethan, Liam, and Aiden began speaking quickly to each other in excited whispers. Laura turned in her seat. "What the hell just happened?"

Stiles closed his eyes and rubbed his temples wearily before Derek placed at hand at the back of his neck and began to draw the pain away. A small moan escaped Stiles lips as his head fell backwards and his eyes rolled up a little. "God, I love your magic hands Derek..." Stiles was blissfully unaware as Peter chuckled, Laura gagged and Derek blushed. "I'll explain later, just get us back to your place first."

The drive after that was peacefully quiet, but Laura could make out the faintest of whispers from the very back of the SUV. Not that she could understand what the pups were actually saying, but still their excited tones left her curious. Of course, she was also feeling a bit mulish and obstinate about the only human in the vehicle. She and her wolf within didn't like him. Peter on the other hand had taken a shine to the young man Derek had brought home. If the scent and the very subtle body language he was picking up from the pair, Stiles was going to be stikcing around for a long time and he had no problem with it. Those whiskey brown eyes held a certain intelligence and cunning Peter could respect and given what he knew of his nephew, Peter was not worried in the slightest.

Another thirty minutes passed from their drive through Riverhead and Peter was turning into the drive way of a huge house (or a small mansion, Stiles couldn't decide) as he announced, "Welcome to the Hale House of Southamptons!"

Liam had scrambled into Ethan's lap and plastered his face to the window trying to get a better look before he scowled and almost bounced into Aiden's lap and smoshed his face into the other window. "Wow," Liam muffled slobbered against the glass.

The lawn was sparse of gaudy decor like other residences they had passed, but it made up for it with natural landscaping and a still-water pond that looked amazingly clear and filled with koi fish. Stiles felt himself breathing deep as he found himself craning his head back a little as the SUV came to a stop to look up at the modern Cape Cod style home. Everyone piled out of the SUV once Peter killed the engine. Still taking in his surroundings, Stiles felt an arm snake behind his lower back and tugged him close before he felt a nose press into his neck and take a deep whiff. Stiles smiled and stretched his neck a little, letting the tendons and muscles in his neck stiffen and harden, earning a slight growl to rumble into the side of his throat. "Something wrong there, Alpha?"

Derek huffed before letting his teeth lightly scraping his fangs carefully along his favorite tendon in his Mate's neck. "Tease." Stiles hummed in acknowledgement and grinned as he shut his eyes as he felt the strong fingers at his side scratch him in earnest. Ethan, Aiden, and Liam all rolled their eyes from where they stood at the back of the SUV.

Peter chuckled while Laura scowled as the two went up to the porch where they could see Kiernan and Talia were seated on a well-weathered porch swing. The matriarch smiled at her brother and daughter. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," Peter replied while Laura smiled wanly.

Talia was confused at Laura's reaction. Glancing around them, she looked back to the SUV sitting in front of the house to seek out her son but her eyes landed on the pups first. "Oh! Just look at you! You're so big," Talia cried as she half-ran, half-leapt (completely terrifying) from the porch to where Ethan, Liam, and Aiden stood just behind the SUV waiting for Stiles and Derek to unload their luggage. Being twelve-years-old, Ethan and Aiden seemed to recognize the threat for what it was and quickly took a step back, leaving their nine-year-old little brother to the tender mercies of Talia's maternal instincts as she swooped Liam up into a bone crushing hug. The littlest wolf wheezed out a squeak as he helplessly flailed a little before glancing over his shoulder. Clear blue eyes pleaded with the pair of chocolate brown eyes for help, but his big brothers were scared of Talia as she continued to rub her face into the side of Liam's head and wisely stayed silent. "Oh, the pictures Derek sent us don't do you justice! You're as cute as a button!"

Liam eventually gave up flailing and resigned himself. "Thank you, Alpha Talia."

Talia pulled back from her hug, but still held Liam in her arms (Liam subtly sucked in a huge breath now that his lungs were free). "You don't have to call me Alpha, sweetums."

All three pups pulled a face at the pet name; Liam looked horrified and his big brothers mischievous. Laura, standing at the porch with Peter and her Dad, noticed motion out of the corner of her eye. Derek had his arms wrapped around both of Stiles' shoulders as he whispered softly into Stiles' ear. "It's ok, it's ok, it's just my mom. She's not a threat, Liam is safe..." Laura blinked before she focused on Stiles' face and suddenly understood why. There was no smile on those tightly drawn lips, no merriment in those hard whiskey brown eyes, no ease in the tightly pulled eyebrows. The straining muscles in Stiles' neck and clenched fists told Laura Stiles was a moment away from attacking her mother! Her wolf within bristled and she began to growl.

Which unfortunately was the wrong thing to do as Stiles snapped his gaze in her direction, setting off her wolf within. Leaping from the porch, Laura's fangs dropped as her claws popped as she sailed towards Derek and Stiles. Whiskey brown eyes narrowed as Stiles swiftly slid his right foot back while crouching forward on left, hands flat and poised in front. Derek saw her coming and Laura could suddenly hear his elevated heartbeat and his face paling in fear. She was momentarily confused as to why Derek was afraid but the moment passed when Derek jumped and met her head on with a vicious lunge of his own. They both landed in a mess of tangled limbs as Laura snarled and snapped her fangs before Derek's eyes flashed his crimson red eyes and roared ferociously in her face. Stunned by the vicious look in her little brother's eyes, Laura froze.

"Laura," her mother screamed as Derek slowly got off his older sister. Talia paced over to her oldest children, Liam still clutched in her arms. "Derek! How could you-?"

Derek cut her off. "Mom, put Liam down and back away. **Slowly**."

Talia's eyebrows rose high before Derek shifted his eyes to side where Stiles was still tense as a drawn bow in an attack stance. Understanding dawning, Talia gently placed Liam on his feet, who happily scampered over to his _Tato_ with a happy grin. Peter watched with utter fascination as the littlest wolf wrapped his arms around Stiles' chest, the ferocity in those whiskey brown eyes faded and the easy smile was back on his face. Turning to his brother-in-law, Peter smiled viciously as he watched Derek help Laura off the ground out of the corner of his eye. "This is going to one helluva holiday."

<~~~~~~>

Nursing a warm mug of tea, Kiernan mused on the display that occurred in front of the house earlier. His eldest son was home for the first time in years, since he'd gone off to start his own pack after becoming an Alpha; his eldest daughter seemed to be on edge and tense; the three pups were adorable and playful while their father seemed cold and calculating; he chuckled at the idea of  more family coming to their home as the big holiday dinner was drawing closer at their home. As his incorrigible brother-in-law remarked, this was shaping up to be a rather interesting holiday. A chuckle escaped his lips as his eyes lingered on the dying fire where after-dinner roasted marshmallows had the pups squealing in delight.

"Dad?"

Kiernan glanced over his shoulder to see Derek walking barefoot into the living room dressed in flannel pants and a warm sleep shirt with a curious expression on his face. The golden light flickered across his son's face and Kiernan suddenly saw his little pup with little bunny teeth and big ears for just a moment before he lightly shook his head and he came back to the present. "Yes, son?"

Derek padded in silently into the living room. "You ok? You looked a little out of there."

Smiling, Kiernan placed his empty mug on the fireplace mantel as he turned to his son. "Just thinking about the pups and their father. Your Uncle Peter is right; this will be an interesting holiday."

Wrapping his arms around himself, Derek smiled. "You've got that right, dad. These past few years have been just...so amazing."

"I can tell. You and your wolf have settled in the Alpha really well."

Ducking his head, Derek uncurled his left arm from around his body and lightly scratched the back of his head. "It's been a trip for sure, although I can say it's been the last two years that really have defined my wolf's instincts and my understanding about being an Alpha." Kiernan fully turned to his son and gently crossed his arms as he leaned against the fireplace as he raised an eyebrow in a question. Derek sighed and let his arms drop with a befuddled expression on his face (Kiernan's pup was still inside this hulk of a wolf). "Honestly, ever since Stiles and the pups came into my life, I just, I dunno, I feel," Derek ran his hands through his hair furiously a few times before dropping them to his side and sighing, "it's like my wolf and I are completely whole for the first time. We're not restless, we're pacing, we're not looking around. We both feel settled, content."

A sense of fortune was rising in Kiernan as he took everything in his son shared with him. Crossing his arms, Kiernan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What is it about Stiles that you like?"

"Everything," Derek flailed uncharacteristically. "Everything about him! He's so protective of people; I told you how he basically trained my Betas as high school teens without an Alpha right?" His father nodded and gestured to continue. "His loyalty! Even as at fourteen, he stuck with his friends after they all turned and of course there's his pups and oh Mother Moon, the care and love he gives to to his pups! The things I've learned about what he did for them," Derek grabbed two fists full of hair and groaned, "I want to wrap him in a blanket burrito and stuff him with curly fries while also wanting to go out and hunt down everyone that hurt him and the pups." Kiernan pursed his lips to keep the laughter from bubbling out as his melodramatic son spun in a circle and began to pace. "Of course that's useless because he did it himself. Dad!" Derek rounded on his father suddenly, eyes wide with wonder. "Stiles is ridiculously strong! It's practically unfair for him to be in any fight! Even I'm not much of a match for him!"

Try as he might, Kiernan couldn't keep his mirth contained as he belted a laugh and doubled over. Looking up didn't help as Kiernan got a glimpse of Derek's floored, confused face and had him cackling all over again. It took a moment for him to regain control of himself. "Oh, oh, son. I think you have the worst case of being twitterpated I have ever seen."

The furry eyebrows on his son's face climbed high. "What?"

Wiping away a stray tear, Kiernan walked over to his son. "Do you hear yourself right now? You make it sound like Stiles' is the wolf and you're not."

Moaning, Derek dropped his forehead to his father's shoulder, even if he did have to bend down slightly, getting a chuckle and a soothing rub to the back of his head and lower back from his father's hug. "I know, I know that's what I sound like, but dad, you don't understand! Stiles may be the most wolfish person out there and I'm not exaggerating how strong he is. He's already passed the Hunter Guardian Assesement with flying colors, I haven't had official custody of the pups for a long time."

That sobered up his dad quick. "What?"

Derek pulled away from his father and looked him dead in the eye. "I'm telling you now and you need to drive this home to the rest of the family: Do not threaten Stiles or his pups. He's been in therapy for a while now to deal with a lot of PTSD and his hypervigilantism when it concerns his pups but Stiles can seriously hurt any one here. Luckily, I already had a hold on him when mom grabbed Liam, but that was a close call."

Kiernan quirked an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

Sensing his father's doubt, Derek shook his head in frustration. "Don't say I didn't warn you, dad. There's a reason I jumped at Laura instead of letting her take on Stiles."

With a fatherly pat to his amusing child, Kiernan smiled indulgently. "Go to bed, Derek. I think you're much more tired than you realize."

Glancing at the clock on the mantel, Derek sighed before pulling his father into a hug. "Might as well. Five in the morning is gonna feel like hell with the jet lag."

His father pulled back and looked at that weary face on his son. "Five in the morning?"

<~~~~~~>

The morning sun had fade from its golden glory and now sat high enough to shine with a clear and bright intensity that came with cloudless winter mornings. Talia and Peter were busy finishing up breakfast as Laura and Kiernan nursed mugs of coffee at the kitchen island where an impressive spread lay out. Bowls of fresh fruit, platters of eggs, a basket of warm biscuits, and pitchers of juice were waiting to be plundered and Laura would have eaten if it weren't for her meddling mother. Talia hummed a tune as she fried up thick country bacon she got from the market in Riverhead, knowing her grouchy eldest child wouldn't touch anything without bacon to accompany it. "Laura, could you go see if Derek and his guest are up?"

Before a sleep addled and grouchy Laura could snark anything out, Peter spoke up with a smile on his face and glee in his voice. "Oh sister dearest, don't worry about them. I heard them all leave around 5:10 this morning."

Talia paused a moment before she finished turning over the bacon in the pan before pushing it back into the oven to crisp. "What?"

Peter chuckled as he flipped some johnny cakes over in the pan. "I was just getting ready to go for my morning run when I heard some rather rude growling. Turns out the littlest wolf, Liam, is not a morning person."

Laura perked up a little, a bit incredulous at that. "Why was he awake?"

Instead of answering, Peter tilted his head to the side. Kiernan, Talia, and Laura followed suit as they listened carefully. Groans and panting could be heard from outside, as well as a light tempo of pattered feet crunching into the ice and snow. The silence in the kitchen stretched on, only the crackle of butter and batter permeated the air before the back door to the kitchen opened gently. Stiles poked his cold, red face inside. "Hey! Good morning! Fancy seeing you all up."

The smile Stiles gave them was bright and sunny before he was unceremoniously shoved inside and almost tripped into the wall as his pups walked in behind him. They were all dressed in winter running gear consisting of thermal leggings, spiked trail running shoes and thermal jackets but unlike Stiles who wore all black, Ethan and Liam wore blue leggings where as Aiden wore red. Aiden pulled off his beanie and rubbed his sweaty hair as Stiles stared in betrayal at his sons. "You were standing in the way." Aiden prompted.

"And," Stiles questioned.

Aiden shrugged before he jerked his finger over his shoulder to where Derek was huffing and panting near the door before Liam and Ethan came over and guided him to a chair at the table. Derek laid his arms out and the tableware rattled a moment when his head THUNKED down as he moaned slightly once more. Liam patted Derek on the head once more in sympathy. Stiles' face cleared as he nodded in understanding. "Good point. Alright, upstairs you three! Showers, teeth, and fresh clothes!"

Laura watched through narrowed eyes as the three pups scampered upstairs while Stiles made his way over to the big lump of an Alpha and gently carded his fingers into the back of Derek's head, ignoring the plentiful amounts of perspiration. "You ok there, oh Alpha, my Alpha?"

As Talia pulled the bacon out of the oven and Peter finished plating the last of the johnny cakes, Derek let out a whine the four Hales in the kitchen hadn't heard since Derek had been a pup himself. Talia and Peter both snorted horrifically in an attempt to catch the unexpected guffaws while Laura and Kiernan both did a spit take before coughing and laugh up their coffee. Stiles eyed Derek's family warily but felt Derek turning his face to Stiles. "That felt like a White Fox run. How did you plan out a White Fox run when you've never been to Wolf Swamp Sanctuary?!"

Peter perked up a moment as Stiles softly shrugged as he ran a gentle hand across Derek's cheek. "Google, what else? You going to be ok?"

"Yeah, yeah," Derek breathed as he partially lifted his arm up and shooed Stiles. "I'll shower in my parent's bathroom, you can take the guest bathroom after the pups are done and we'll come down together.

Stiles had an impish smile that had Laura's hackle rising again before leaning down to Derek's chin and gently licking the jaw line up to his ear. Every wolf in the room froze, the four oldest shocked while Derek flushed as Stiles lapped his tongue playfully. "Hm, maybe I should help you get cleaned first, _Derek_."

The tones and vibrations in the way Stiles said Derek's name had the Alpha flashing his crimson red eyes and snorting in frustration. " _ **Out**_." Laughing, Stiles soundlessly stalked out of the kitchen but he could feels those crimson eyes on his back side and gently squeezed his butt, knowing the movement would show through the skintight fabric. Derek downright growled as Stiles disappeared around the corner.

Laura watched everything with suspicion. "Derek?"

Derek rolled his face to the table once more. "I hate morning runs."

<~~~~~>

The following mornings the rest of the week had a similar rhythm to them. The Hales would make breakfast and wait for Derek and his guests to come home from their "runs" with everyone eating a filling meal after freshening up. Talia almost squealed when the pups had begun to clean the kitchen and do the dishes after the meal was done.The rest of the day were different. The first day Derek took Stiles and the pups sight seeing around New York City, going out and about to see the famous places and get lots of pictures. The next day was a day filled with visiting the smaller, lesser known parts of Staten Island such as the marketplace in Riverhead and a boat tour of Great Peconic Bay. Today had a visit to the actual Hale Farm lands planned to see where all the ducks are raised. The pups were especially excited to see all the ducks.

Kiernan, Talia, and Peter had warmed up to Stiles and his pups easily, but Laura was still prickly about them. Stiles took the animosity with an aplomb attitude while the pups were just as surly to Laura. Derek for the life of him couldn't figure out what it was about Stiles that seemed to rub Laura the wrong way. The few times he'd tried to talk it out with her had ended up being more awkward guilt driven than anything else. There wasn't any one thing that Laura could pin down on why she and her wolf disliked Stiles. No bad habits ore rude manners had come into play. No, there was something else that was driving a thorn underneath her skin and into her wolf's fur. Something that made her leery and on edge.

Laura suspiciously watched from the kitchen table as Stiles stuck his head into the hallway and called upstairs. "Come on pups! Peter's got the SUV nice and toasty so get your paws moving and we can go see the ducks!"

"BE DOWN IN A MINUTE! LIAM LOST HIS UNDERWEAR!"

 _"ETHAN! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T TELL!_ "

A smirk lit up Stiles' face as he felt Derek wrap his arms around his chest from behind and buried his face between Stiles' shoulder blades, just breathing in the scent. Leaning back a little, Stiles pressed gently against Derek. "I think you have a problem there, Sourwolf."

Rubbing his face back and forth, Derek sighed in complete content. "Mm, I don't. Just addicted to your scent, Sourpatch."

A lithe arm reached up and behind to scratch at the side of the Alpha's head. "First step in the road to recovery: Admitting your have a problem."

Positively rumbling, Derek hitched his chin onto Stiles' shoulder so he could lightly nip at the ears. "Then let me succumb."

Stiles began to feel his heart race and could even feel the blood pulsing in his lips. A low moan escape as he twisted his head a little, elongating his sinuous neck. Derek's crimson red eyes flashed a moment as he began trace his favorite tendon in Stiles' neck with just his lips. Choking lightly, Stiles arched back, pushing harder against Derek's exceptionally warm body.

Only to cool off harshly at the raspy cough from Laura. "You two are shameless. I'm still right here!"

"And there goes the mood," Stiles sighed sadly as he straightened up out of Derek's now limp ( ** _amongst other things_** ) arms."I think I'll go upstairs and help the pups."

Derek whined softly as he pathetically raised a hand to feebly grasp at his Mate. "Stiles."

Lightly dancing out of the way, Stiles impishly smiled and winked before batting Derek's hand away.

Laura got the end of Derek's pout as Stiles walked into the hallway. Oh, that pout. It was lethal when Derek was a pup with those big eyes and equally big ears. Many had fallen to it. Namely her parents, her aunts and uncles, and both sets of grandparents. Of course, being the older sister, she was naturally immune to it. "Don't give me the pout, Derek. Public spaces remember?"

Derek sighed as he straightened and crossed his arms. "Fine, fine. We've got to get a move on anyways. Peter and Dad went out early to get things ready for the pups." A smile played on his lips as Derek tilted his head and listened in on the quest for lost underwear upstairs. "They're really excited to see the ducks."

Grasping the mug in both her hands, Laura genially took a sip of her now lukewarm coffee before fixing her little brother with a suspicious glare. "Ever get an explanation on _why_ they are so excited?"

A grimace lit up Derek's face as he brought his left hand to scratch the back of his head. "Stiles explained it once we settled in the first night." Something happened Laura didn't understand as Derek's entire body went stiff, fists clenched tightly. "Stiles and the pups used to be homeless in Hong Kong." Laura felt her stomach clench cold. "Scrounged, hunted, and begged for food while trying to stay safe." Derek palmed his face as he chuckled joylessly. "Can you imagine how hard it was for them? Homeless foreign escaped slaves?" The cup in Laura's hands cracked. "In Hong Kong, a lot of markets have hanging meat in the windows. Want to guess what one of the most popular things are?" Shaking her head, Laura avoided Derek's eyes. "Roast duck! Mother Moon, even Stiles could smell them walking nearby! Apparently, it always smelled enticing and delicious, but what doesn't smell good to an empty stomach?!"

Steeling herself, Laura finally looked up. "Derek...I-"

"Stiles never could find any duck in the trash you know," Derek steam rolled on. "There really isn't any place at home that actually serves duck so this is literally the first chance they've ever had to-"

**"HIIIIIYYYAAAAA!!!!!"**

Derek almost fell over but he spun his arms like a windmill to compensate for the 68lbs lump that crashed into his back. A little blond head popped up over his shoulder and tucked it's chin into he crook of his neck. "Hi Derek!"

Finally balancing on his two feet, Derek guffawed as he brought his right hand up to rub the short blond spikes. "Good morning, pup."

Liam scowled fiercely as a soft laugh paired with two giggles announced Stiles with Ethan pressed to his left and Aiden to his right. "You ready to go Derek?"

Tucking his arms under Liam to give the pup a better seat on his back, Derek smiled brightly. "Sure am! I've got the keys to the SUV since dad and Peter took the truck this morning."

Derek and Stiles ushered out the pups through the backdoor, leaving Laura to stew in her head.

<~~~~~~>

The Saturday morning of the big night had come and Talia was expecting for the day to follow a similar pattern to the last few before the rest of the pack would arrive tonight for the traditional holiday dinner to start off the celebration time. Granted, breakfast did go off without a hitch as the Hales waited for Derek, Stiles and his pups to come home from their morning run, but that was it. Once the pups had finished cleaning the kitchen, Stiles got an evil grin on his face. "Alright! ALL OF YOU OUT OF THE HOUSE!" The back door slammed open before Derek, Laura, Peter, Talia, Kiernan, and the pups were all bodily thrown out of the house. Stiles stood smugly at the door as he brushed his hands off. "You can come back in two hours." The door shut with a resounding slam.

Talia was still blinking from where she lay flat on her back. "Did Stiles just toss us all out of the house?"

Peter stared at the back door in disbelief. "Yes."

Bracing herself onto her elbows, Laura's eyebrows scrunched together. "What just happened?"

The pups sat up from the pile of bodies and sighed in unison before one of the twins (none of the Hales could tell the difference between Ethan and Aiden yet) waved vaguely towards the house. " _Tato_ is making his moon cookies for tonight and no one knows his recipe."

Derek untangled himself from his dad and got up, brushing off some snow and dirt before looking wistful at the backdoor of the house. "Stiles makes them for the full moon at home and they are the best things I have **ever** eaten in my life."

The littlest wolf was sniffing the air, as he walked closer to the house. "I think I smell _Tato's_ special ingredients."

As the rest of the Hales got to their feet, Derek hooked a finger into Liam's coat collar. "Hold it right there, Liam. Let's leave your dad alone until he gives the all clear, just like at home." Talia grabbed Kiernan's hand in some obnoxious maternal desire when Liam pouted and glared at Derek adorably to grab Liam and squeeze him. "Don't give me that face, you know better."

Laura scowled once more. "Are we not going to point out how we've just let some stranger kick all of us out of our own home?!" Derek turned an incredulous glance to his sister as the pups glared. Peter, Kiernan, and Talia were apparently shocked at Laura's hostile stance, which seemed to infuriate her. "Really?! How are any of you ok with this! That man just waltzes into Derek's life and apparently I'm just supposed to accept him just like that? Some stranger we know nothing about and for all we know is some hustling whore!"

Talia paled. "Laura!"

Derek's perplexed look morphed into a vicious glare as the pups pulled in tight around Derek and growled. "Say that again and I'll let the pups rip out your throat."

The twins flashed their fangs as Liam hissed through his own. "With our teeth!"

Further conversation was cut off as the back door opened once more. Stiles stood, silhouetted by the glow from the warm kitchen lights. The miraculous scent of moon cookies wafted into the air, but no one really paid any attention to it. Stiles had an intense look on his face. Laura felt her hackles rise and her wolf within came up. "Something to say?"

Stiles steadily walked towards the group his eyes fixed just beyond the yard. "Fuireachas."

The pups and Derek all tensed a moment before loosening up and turning to face the same direction as Stiles. Derek took a step forward in front of the pups as Kiernan, Talia, and Peter all tried to scent the air. Laura focused only on Stiles' aggressive pacing. That familiar feeling of danger was back again and she hated how Stiles was causing it. It was when Stiles crouched on the ground did Laura let her fangs fall and her claws pop free. Of course the moment was short lived when Stiles shot up into the air as a pillar of earth erupted underneath him.

Talia gasped as she watched Stiles sail through the air. Kiernan watched as he practically swan dived straight into the woods at the edge of the yard. Peter smiled devilishly when there was a crash, an eruption of dirt and trees, and cries of pain from previously unknown wolves in the area. There was the sound of cracking bones, pounded flesh, and whimpers of fear emanating from the woods. Peter approved. "My goodness, nephew, that is some Mate you picked out."

Ethan nodded wearily. " _Tato_ is the strongest."

A shrill cry had everyone pausing a moment before Kiernan addressed his son. "Is this what you meant by how ridiculously strong Stiles is?"

Derek didn't take his eyes away from the dark, pine woods. "Not only does Stiles have magic, he's also a master of two forms of kung fu. He's taught one to the pups that compliments the wolf. The other is pretty much a counter style. The weirdest part is Stiles has this crazy sixth sense for supernatural danger." Derek glanced to the side where Laura was staring hard at him. "Stiles' didn't just pass his Hunter Guardian Assessment with flying colors, he surpassed and subjugated it. I'm deathly serious right now: DO NOT FIGHT STILES."

All the wolves jumped at the horrendous wail erupted from beyond the tree line that had everyone flinching to start running in only to stop at the sudden, quiet that followed. Peter could hear the rapid heart beats coming from his sister, her husband, and his niece, but noticed the relative calm coming from the pups and Derek. It was oddly disconcerting at how cool the four of them were all things considered. All their eyes were drawn to a single figure sauntering out of the pines. There was a deadly grace to Stiles gait and the more Peter truly began to analyze his countenance and posture, it all became clear as to what had his niece on edge and in a foul mood. The unwavering glare, the fluid motion, the unseen magical power, the belying strength that lay hidden under the many deceptive layers of clothes, Stiles was an apex predator. A glance to his right confirmed that Talia seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

Tension began to rise as Stiles made his way over to the Hales. The wind had changed and the scent of a foreign pack and blood carried to them all. A sense of forbearance settled over the Hales as this strange human-shaped predator came closer. Laura began to rumble once more but the moment passed when the pups all bounded out to meet their dad, Derek following at more sedate pace. Stiles entire persona shifted like a light filter; an infectiously bright smile, a warm laugh and big open arms greeted his pups as the twins plastered into his sides as Liam wrapped his arms around his waist. Derek got there last and grabbed Stiles by the shoulders. "You alright?"

Stiles smiled at Derek before shrugging his right shoulder up and cuddling Derek's hand there as he held on to his pups. "I'm fine, Sourwolf. Nothing I couldn't handle."

Derek raised an eyebrow at him, although his parents, his uncle, and his sister couldn't see it considering he had his back to them. "No doubt, Sourpatch. Did you have to decimate a pack during the holiday?"

A dark look flashed across those whiskey brown eyes. "They were after you, Derek."

Laura startled at that. "What?!"

Ignoring his sister, Derek tilted his head in confusion. After two years together, Stiles read the question easily. "Those were remnants of the Alpha you killed years ago. They heard you were back and wanted revenge."

An unimpressed look graced Derek's face before he shrugged and gestured towards the house once more. Stiles nodded warmly as he began walking back with the pups and Derek in tow. Stiles nodded to Talia as he walked by before all five walked into the house.

Talia turned to Kiernan. "I'm not sure what to make of all this."

Kiernan shook his head. "Not going to think too hard on this. Derek loves him and its clear he's loved in return."

Peter clapped as he laughed. "Mother Moon, Stiles is certainly an excellent mate for Derek. Can you imagine someone trying to get to close to Derek with a Mate like that around?!"

A sudden clarity shook Laura as Peter made an excellent point. Yes, this terrifying person was going to be around, but it was clear he cared for her little brother. Apparently enough to go out and essentially slaughter a pack that had been lurking about with no one noticing who had their eyes set on Derek. Did Stiles still give her and her wolf within the heebie jeebies? Yeah, but she could learn to deal with it if it meant Derek was better protected. He may be an Alpha, but he was still her little pup of a brother.

Laura didn't get a chance to respond before the door burst open once more and Derek and the pups were ejected out of the house once more. "When I say 'secret recipe', I mean **SECRET RECIPE**!" Stiles slammed the door shut leaving Derek and the pups in a pile of limbs, all of them sighing in futility.

Peter turned to his sister in devious glee. "I cannot WAIT for him to meet Grandma Ethel and Uncle Joe's family tonight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Nie lubię jej** = _"I don't like her."_  
>  **Możemy iść do domu?** = _"Can we go home?"_  
>  **Bądź miły, jesteśmy dla Derek"** = _"Be nice, we're here for Derek."_  
>  **Szczenięta"** = _"Pups"_  
>  **mamy zamiar wziąć nasze ręce z dala i będzie spokój. Zrozumiany?"** = _"we're going to take our hands away and you will be quiet. Understood?"_  
>  **Fuireachas.** = _Standby._
> 
> lol That ended up much longer than I anticipated.....


End file.
